Racks and Hard Places; The Archer Road Tour, Part 2

Continuing East on the South side of Archer Road

A suitable rack at campus Outfitters

Campus Outfitters
The building currently housing Campus Outfitters has been an eatery in the past. Maybe a Gator clothing outlet will survive.

The rack here is sturdy and visible to traffic, but not readily visible if one is shopping. Still, it provides adequate security for an employee.





 
Sonny's
It's a local institution and very popular, but Sonny's provides no bicycle specific security. There are flyparking options and high traffic probably makes this a relatively secure place despite not being able to see your bike from inside. They have racks and half racks to feed you, but no racks to secure your ride

Sonny's will sell you a rack, but provide riders with none!

Chick-fil-a's rack is commonly in use

Chick-fil-a
The rack at Chick-fil-a is almost always in use and this creates some problems because of its size, placement and design. Larger bikes and those with fenders do not easily fit in the designated slots and large bike can create an obstacle for a car using the adjacent parking place. The nut and bolt construction of the rack is a lesser problem here because of the high visibility and traffic. Except for the lack of space, parking here is quite secure.

Nut and Bolt Rack

Easy to see your ride at Chick-fil-a

 









Willy's Mexican Grill
Newly arrived Willy's meets many of the standards I set for secure bike parking. The rack is sturdy, set in concrete and permits easy locking of front and rear. Ideally there would be two racks set at a right angle to the current single and providing more space. Yet, even using the rack in the typical manner (meaning parking the bike perpendicularly to the rack) security is good becasue of visibility from within. The only time when a parked bike is out of sight is upon entering and ordering.

Easy to watch your bike at Willy's

Bikes are readily visible outside Willy's

Wave style Rack at Willy's

A word here about rack design and position. Wave style racks are cost effective and simple to install. (see The Art of Bike Parking) To effect two point parking a multi-bike rack becomes much less efficient. The racks provided outside The Pita Pit and behind Brass Tap encourage multiple bike parking and make two point locking possible simultaneously. Choosing the best rack and placing it effectively requires more than casual thought if it is going to promote bike security.

Wendy's
Sharing a parking lot with Willy's, the rebuilt Wendy's also shares the same bike security perspective. Their wave style rack is readily visible from within. Wendy's and nearby Willy's offer some of the most secure parking available on Archer Road.

Parking much like Willy's

The view from inside Wendy's

Racks and Hard Places; The Archer Road Tour, Part 1

Stuff happens along Archer Road in Gainesville. Eateries and places to buy things are the basic fiber of the area with Butler Plaza being the center of this retail universe. For many people coming to the area for the first time or just passing through on I-75, Archer Road is Gainesville. Residents of the area live with the dichotomy of feelings generated by what is there and the too-often heavy traffic. Riders are able to skirt and avoid the congestion, but must be perpetually alert for inattentive drivers. It’s just the way it is. Evenings can be especially dangerous as date-night activity can easily supersede driving skill and traffic awareness.

This isn’t about drivers or danger on wheels. It’s about what riders do with their bikes if they want to use the abundance of eateries and places to buy things? As noted in the previous entry, good locks (the HOW) are one part of the security thing. The other part is the WHERE.

Some business owners blame landlords for the lack of bicycle racks. Some claim “rules” prohibiting them. Few deny the need, though it may be nothing more than momentary lip service. Large, old, eccentric Vietnam veterans have a way of sometimes stirring contradictory comments. The cost purchase and install a satisfactory bike rack is less than $500. The actual cost depends upon the rack choice, site, preparation of the site and installation. An in-depth examination of bicycle usage and parking can be seen at bicyclinginfo.org.

Back to Archer Road, specifically the south side across from sprawling Butler Plaza . . .

We’ll start on the south side of Archer Road, across the street from Butler Plaza near the intersection with I-75 and begin looking at bicycle security accommodations. This is not a scholarly examination. It’s one guy’s perspective and will be far too subjective at times, maybe objective occasionally and probably tainted by some personal bias. The things that matter to me include proximity, accessibility, quality of racks, existence of racks and visibility.

Burger King

As noted previously, the Burger King on NW 16^th Avenue has a well placed, sturdy rack. The Archer Road establishment does not. It doesn’t even have a rack. It does have a lamp post. It’s not designed nor designated as a place to fasten a bike, but it works. A U-Lock cannot be used and a chain or cable has to be long enough to encircle the post.

This is one of those places where flyparking is probably ok, mostly because of visibility and proximity. It’s a busy place, the post is at the front door and the area can be seen easily from inside. The Archer Road BK doesn’t score for taking bikes into consideration, but its “facilities” are useable.

Burger King, SW Archer Road

Waffle House

Across the street from Burger King is a Waffle House that has neither a rack nor useable flyparking places for securing a bike. As with all Houses you can easily see into the parking lot, so leaning a bike against the building would keep it in sight, but not secured. Lack of a place to secure a bike is disappointing because I like Waffle House. Of course, one could affect the I’m-a-Waffle-House-regular-so-don’t-mess-with-me attitude. The pragmatic side is that Waffle House severs are extremely protective of and loyal to their regular customers. Thus, a regular’s bike might be safer leaning against the wall outside than chained anywhere else. Actually, anyone visiting Waffle House could expect that the servers would be or could be made aware of a bike parked outside.

Lacking Waffle House regular status, bike parking there is less than satisfactory. Visibility is good and the bike could be kept in close proximity, but security would still be limited.

Waffle House, SW Archer Road

Kerr's Wing House

Kerr's Wing House, Archer Road

Formerly Denny’s, the Wing House is a busy place in its early days of existence. When it was remodeled no provisions were added for bike security. Flyparking is possible, but potentially conflicts with take-out and handicapped patrons. Seating in the open air section would permit easy visibility of a bike fastened to the fencing.

Chaining my bike to the fence would not be a choice I’d be likely to make. Surely there is a wing place offering better bike accommodations

Want to compete with to-go and handicapped parking?

Adequate provisions at the Pita Pit

Pita Pit, Mochi, Chipotle, Brass Tap, and whatever else is there

The strip with its back to Archer Road houses several popular eateries. There is one set of bike racks outside Pita Pit that are readily visible from both inside and the open air section. A second rack is behind Brass Tap at the other end of the strip. Patrons of Mochi, Chipotle choosing that smaller, less conspicuous rack would need to feel less secure. It is visible to the parking area, but because of its location near some utility cabinets does not stand-out as does the larger one near Pita Pit.

You’d probably feel pretty secure at Pita Pit. From Chipotle you can see the rack behind Brass Tap, so that might make it ok. There is a railing along the east side of Chipotle, also, where a bike can be secured and viewed while dining. Visibility from any of the other places is lacking. Activity in and around the businesses could lower risk or, unfortunately increase invisibility.

The Brass Tap's parking is out of the way

Useable by Chipotle, the Tap's rack is out back.

There are a few subjective observations about bike security along Archer Road. Maybe you’ll find ‘em to be useful.

Racks and Hard Places

So, you invest in a high quality locking device, a chain and good lock, maybe even a U-Lock, too. You’re prepared to use some security-best-practices like being sure to minimize spaces where leverage can be applied and include both wheels when lacing the chain through the frame as you lock your ride to the bike rack. But . . . uh . . . there’s no bike rack to which you can fastened your high quality chain and U-Lock. Hummmm.

This is a bike friendly town; even “Bicycling Magazine” says so. There are bike lanes and paths and most people avoid running into you. The topography is great. Weather is outstanding, especially this time of year. Even when drivers fail to signal turns and deliver close calls because they are texting a significant others it’s a great place to ride because it’s pretty damn nice here. Problem is, when you get where you’re going you can’t settle into whatever you intended to do because of uncertainty that your trusty ride’ll still be waiting for you when you’re done doing whatever you intended to do.

The Center for Problem-Oriented Policing offers a lengthy and informative guide regarding bike theft and security (Bicycle Theft, Guide 52 (2008)). They identify bicycle theft as a prime example of opportunistic crime and place initial responsibility on bike owners. If you don’t secure your bike with an adequate device (or secure it at all) you have enhanced the opportunity. Beyond that, having an adequate place to secure the bike is essential. Ok . . . so what? Having an adequate means for securing a bike becomes significantly less useful if the place to secure it is inadequate or missing. Both HOW and WHERE matter.

There are lots of different WHEREs  for securing bikes ranging from task-specific bike racks to what is referred to as “flyparking” which is using signs and non-bike-specific fixed objects. You might presume that an actual rack would be the superior option, yet within the set of racks variability is vast. Shape, size, construction and location all bear upon their usefulness. Sometimes, flyparking is the better option. Often, it is not. Once a rider settles upon a locking-best-practice the focus falls upon where to lock the bike. The above mentioned Guide 52 talks extensively about Locks and Parking Facilities. If you care about security, read it.

Before I go on, care enough to read it . . . Guide 52 can be read online or downloaded as a PDF or as an Ebook.

So, now what? Well, recently, as I began to pay more attention to where I secure my bike, I thought about the qualities that make me feel better about leaving my ride unattended. There are several variables here, too. I’d like to park in an area of high traffic, but not where it is so high that a thief becomes anonymous. A rack within sight of the entrance to a business makes me feel better. Being able to see the rack from inside the business feels pretty good. Sturdy construction improves my state of mind. If I am forced to flypark the same concepts apply. Can someone pull that sign out of the grown or lift my bike off of it? Would someone be carrying a saw to fell that tree?

One place I visit frequently is my local grocery store, the Publix in Tower Plaza at SW Archer and Tower Roads. There are two racks, one each to the left and right of the store’s entrance, where they are out of the way, but readily visible. They are not especially sturdy racks; bolted together and to the concrete. I’d prefer immovable and heavier, but in every other way they’re adequate for the time I spend shopping.

Publix at SW Archer and Tower Roads

The oldest Burger King in Gainesville is located on NW 16^th Avenue. Its bike rack offers considerable security of mind because of location, construction and visibility. Not everyplace you go can meet these standards, but as a starting point I tend to judge every bike rack by this one. The rack is in close proximity to the business and its entrances, of heavy duty construction, set in concrete and readily visible from inside. How cool is that! Give the King a Crown!

Burger King, NW 16th Avenue

Inside Burger King, NW 16th Avenue

I’ll continue to look at bike security more carefully and critically, if only to make myself more aware. Will I stop going to places where my bike’s security is reduced by poorly placed or nonexistent racks? Possibly. . . if an alternative exists.